PERKIOMEN — Saturday afternoon, Methacton High head wrestling coach A.J. Maida was smiling as if he had three winning lottery tickets tucked away in his pocket.

He and his injury-and-illness-riddled Warriors were celebrating a decisive 41-25 win over host Perkiomen Valley, and one of the Warriors wrestlers being heaped with praise was senior middleweight Paul Russo.

Ironically, a little more than three weeks ago, Russo was about as popular as a price hike at the pump in Fairview Village.

It was Jan. 3, the start of a new calendar year, but the only thing Methacton High’s wrestling team was ringing in was a lopsided loss.

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The Warriors were in the midst of getting thumped, at home, by Boyertown, and were staring up at a 38-point deficit with four matches remaining when Russo took the mat for his 160-pound match.

Russo would win by first-period fall, but no sooner did the official slap the mat than Russo demonstratively leaped to his feet and began pounding on his own chest.

Maida, already boiling mad over the performance of this team, quickly grabbed Russo and escorted him from the mat, sending him directly to the locker room.

After the match, Maida had what he called, “a strong-worded conversation” with Russo.

Since, the Warriors have been a much better team, and one of their top wrestlers has been one Paul Russo.

The incident, Russo said, turned his season around.

“I got a little over-excited,” he said, “and it was embarrassing. I didn’t mean anything by it, I had some friends on the Boyertown team, and I guess I was just in the moment.

“But I let my school and my teammates down.”

The Warriors senior said he apologized to Maida, and to his teammates, who were subjected to some particularly rough practices in the wake of the lopsided loss and Russo’s antics.

But the message got through.

“It opened my eyes a little bit,” Russo said, “and it’s really helped me. I feel I’m working harder in the practice room, I’m prepared to go six minutes in every match.

“And it’s helped in the classroom, too. I actually missed a tournament (early) this year because I was (academically) ineligible.

“I haven’t missed one since then.”

Also since then, the only demonstration Russo has given has been his ability to be a solid wrestler and team member.

“He’s been one of our best wrestlers in the month of January,” Maida said.

For the record, Russo is 9-3 since the chest-pounding incident, with his only losses coming to Malvern Prep’s Greg Bacci, Monsignor Bonner’s Joe DePhilippo and Pottstown’s Darien Hain, a more-than-formidable trio. And none of those three losses came by fall.

Saturday, with the Warriors desperate to stay close early, Russo bumped up to 170 and outlasted the Vikings’ Alec DellaDonna, another rough customer, 3-2.

Making the win even more remarkable is that Russo has been hampered by an injury to his right shoulder.

“In warmups he could barely move his arm,” Maida said.

“It’s just an injury,” Russo said. “I’ll put some ice on it and continue to wrestle.

“I’m not going to sit out, this is my last year. I had the opportunity to sit out the rest of this year, but I didn’t want to.”

Instead, Russo will go back to work, continuing his efforts to be a better wrestler — and better person.

“It definitely humbled me,” Russo said of the incident, “but I think I’m better for it.

“Even my character has gotten better.”

As for Saturday’s match, Methacton came in expecting the worst, and instead got its best.

“We came in here licking some wounds,” Maida said. “We have more people in the hospital than we had on the weigh-in sheet.

“We felt if we were down by less than 22-0 by the time we got to Devin Bradley’s match (at 182 — the competition began at 138), we might have a shot.”

Instead, when Bradley faced off against PV’s Omar Elghawy, the Warriors were down by only 13-6.

Maida was nothing less than effusive about the performances of freshman Kyle Fleming at 138, Dan Damato at 145 and Jack Ryan at 152.

“Kyle’s a first-year kid, and he could have just rolled over,” Maida said after Fleming lost by major decision. “But he gave us a six-minute match, and sparked everybody.

“Danny only gave up a decision and Jack Ryan was outstanding (winning, 4-3, via an escape with 26 seconds left), for about the third or fourth match in a row.

“We were worried coming in, but this is the best we’ve looked all year.”

Meanwhile, Perkiomen Valley head coach Tim Walsh was left to look for answers.

“One of the things we always talk about is people doing their jobs,” Walsh said. “Today, (Methacton) did their jobs, they got it done.

“We needed to get bonus points (early), and we didn’t. They needed to win the close matches, and they did. We have to find a way to get better.”

BACK POINTS: Perk Valley collected eight takedowns in its first four matches, then couldn’t manage another in the match’s final eight wrestled bouts.